Mid Century Dresser Makeover

Hey Everyone!

Regular posting should resume shortly! I'm all moved in, not settled but at least everything is in here. It may be weeks until all my clothes are off the floor but hey, slow and steady, right? Meanwhile, new apartment means a lot of new projects! So I should have some pretty cool stuff to share soon :)

First up- this mid century modern dresser. I picked the handsome man up from Craigslist months ago with my new apartment in mind. I normally don't go for this style, but lately I've been having an affair with mid century design. Did I mention it was only $35, in perfect condition? Yeah. Baller status.

I liked the original color but decided I wanted to go just a little darker. The top was laminate (sad face) but everything else was either solid wood or real wood veneer (read: stainable).

I tested one to see the difference. Then I finally was able to get outside and do the rest of the drawers.

Because the top was laminate, I decided to paint the outside. I was originally going to go with white...but for some reason I can't recall I decided to go with a medium gray.

Yes... I was watching cash cab. I need to go on that show! I was killin' it!

It just wouldn't be a complete post without an appearance by Liam.

This corner of the apartment is looking a little bare at the moment. But after I finish a couple projects I'm working on it should start to come together.

 

So how do you guys feel about mid century pieces? I'm usually more of a traditional girl but I'm beginning to stray ;)

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

PS:

In Progress // Project A.D.D.

[please excuse the awful iPhone pictures throughout this post]

I am wiped out. I've been working on projects for about 8 straight hours today. And I didn't even get one thing finished! I must have Project A.D.D. I start one thing, move to another, then another, then another. I always have a million different ideas for a million different projects running through my mind.

Tonight I'll give you a little taste of what I've been working on. No big reveals, though. That will be for this weekend/early next week.

SO MUCH SANDING! I sanded my way through the drawer fronts of a mid century dresser I've been working on.

I repaired the water damaged top of my curbside end table.

I picked up this beauty from my Aunt Dar. Did I mention how she's my favorite?! Haha. I love having supportive family.

I stained the drawers with dark walnut.

I couldn't wait to start so I disassembled the desk and started peeling off bubbled up veneer.

TIP: Heat the veneer with an iron to melt the glue and make it easier to remove.

I also couldn't wait to try the paint color I picked out, so I did a quick coat on the drawer of my end table.

Not pictured: sanding and two coats of primer on the end table, repairs to the desk, lots and lots of spackling, more sanding and a little more sanding.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to start and finish the body of the dresser, paint the end table and get the desk sanded and primed.

Wish me luck! Hope your week has been a productive one!

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

Another Desk Chair Makeover

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a lovely holiday. I spent some quality time with my family and boyfriend.

I ate a lot, slept a lot and worked on a few projects.

I spent A LOT of quality time with my sister. We worked on yet another project together. You might remember this bookshelf we worked on not too long ago. This project was another addition to her room.

She picked up this little girl at an antique shop. (Yes, she's a girl.)

Look familiar? You might be thinking of this chair makeover. Some people would probably prefer it this way, but we both strongly dislike yellow-ish wood.

 

We weren't sure what to do. We didn't want to paint it all one color because we thought it would be boring. Kait came up with the idea to stain the seat and paint the rest. I was sold immediately. We figured if we didn't like it we could always paint over it.

 

 

After staining it we taped off the seat and primed and painted the rest. We mixed our own color with white and blue we had on hand. It turned out a really cool white.

Here it is in her room. I'm really jealous- it's much more comfortable than mine!

 

 

We can't decide if we want to distress it. I told her to live with it for a while and see what she thinks.

What do you guys think? Should we rough her up around the edges?

Stay tuned for more exciting projects!

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

PS Linking up to:

A New End Table!

I am addicted to end tables! I can't help it. There are so many different styles. Like shoes. I'm also addicted to shoes. 

Enter this little guy:

I got him and another solid wood end table for $35 bucks thanks to my awesome Craigslisting skills. 

(There's also a small dresser in negotiations! I'm really keeping my fingers crossed for this one!)

Anyway. I was just going to paint the whole thing but my boyfriend convinced my to stain the top and paint the rest. I was impressed! He's learning! He even offered to do the sanding. I am the luckiest girl in the world.

So here's the top stripped and conditioned, ready for stain.

I used Minwax Dark Walknut (big surprise there).

We took off these metal pieces. We almost used them but decided not to at the last minute. We filled in the tiny nail holes before we primed.

Sorry for this terrible shot, but here it is stained and primed. Gotta love the lighting in my "workshop." Oh, well. Beggars can't be choosers. I'm lucky my parents let me take over the basement!

He got two coats of MS Winter's Day. It's a really great blue-gray. I was going to replace the hardware but found the original worked best after a little spray painting.

Check out that wood grain!

I love the warm wood tones with the cooler gray. 

The whole thing got a couple coats of wax and it really made the top look nice.

Here it is with a sneak peak of another project!

 

Here's a shot of his cute little feet. Love the casters.

 

Is it weird that I immediately assign a gender to each new piece I acquire? I hope not!

My cousin Jill, (gee, I've been mentioning her a lot lately!) saw this piece when I was working on it and decided it would be perfect for her bedside table. Here it is all dressed up. I'm loving the cute little bird!

I was sad to see it go but there are other end tables in the sea.

What do you think?

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

PS: Thank you so much to everyone who featured our coffee table makeover! It made my day :) You are all wonderful!

PPS: Linking up to









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